Misfits
by MaelstromRickie
Summary: The events in Wildcats: Nemesis have led to the creation of a multitude of superhumans and this series of stories follows a group of individuals dealing with the ramifications of this. This story has an alternate ending to the way Nemesis ended.


**Misfits: Beginnings**

**Issue #1**

"Maelstrom and Draco"

Riverside, California

A lone figure sits on top of the giant bell tower standing in the middle of the University of California Riverside. He lets his feet dangle off the edge of the tower and he sits in deep thought.

Today is his twentieth birthday, yet rather than feeling excited, he has a sense of foreboding that just will not go away. A part of him knows that something big is going to happen today, and it will alter the course of the rest of his life.

The bell tower begins to ring, and sound of the bells shocks him back into the present and away from his troubled thoughts. It is now eleven o'clock, and he was supposed to meet Derryck at Rage an hour ago.

He stands up, looks down over the ledge, and spreads his arms wide. "Better get a move on," he thinks.

Leaning forward, he begins his deadly plummet to the ground, head first. The few people still on campus at this time of night see him and scream in horror, assuming he is attempting to commit suicide. Their screams make him smile, since suicide is the furthest thing from his mind tonight. He feels the chilly air whipping at his face, and cannot help but feel a thrill of excitement.

As he gets closer and closer to the ground, something amazing happens; he has surrounded by an electric blue aura that shimmers in dark. Right before he collides with the pavement, he miraculously pulls up, becoming level with the ground, and halts. Bewildered students stare in awe, as the Nubian boy floats in midair, barely an inch from the ground.

He rises up, putting his hands out in front of him as he does so. Suddenly he skyrockets into the air at amazing speed, completely out of sight in a matter of seconds.

His name is Osirus Adrastea, and on a beautiful night light this, he cannot help but show off with his powers as he propels himself towards Los Angeles at breakneck speed. This is a simple task for him, requiring little effort since he has been flying since he was five years old.

Osirus is a metahumans with vast psionic potential, with telekinesis, the ability to affect matter with only the power of his thoughts, being only one of the abilities he posses. It is a minimal effort to levitate himself and propel his body through the air as he does and at his current speed, he knows he will be in L.A. in less than five minutes.

As he watches the lights of the cities below him fly by in a blur, he reaches out with his telepathy and gently caresses the mind of the one person that means the world to him. His boyfriend, Derryck. He senses that Derryck has registered his presence in his mind.

"Hi babe," responds Derryck's thoughts. "Where are you? You're late."

"I'm flying amongst the clouds," thinks Osirus, "I should be in L.A. in a few minutes. I'm about twenty miles away now."

Descending from the cloud cluster, Osirus takes notice of a spectacular sight that forces him to stop in tracks, floating in midair. He marvels at the size of the spacecraft he almost flew into. Doing a quick estimation, he guesses that it has to be at least a few miles long. His awe is interrupted by the dangerous yellow glow emanating from the end of the ship.

"Derryck," he thinks, "get out of there. NOW!"

"Babe," Derryck's thoughts begin, "what's wro- -? "

Suddenly, Osirus cannot feel Derryck's thoughts anymore, and he knows something is interfering with their telepathic link. Then, all at once he feels the terror of every mind in Los Angeles suddenly tear into his, and it feels as if someone has shoved a butcher knife into is skull.

He clutches his head with both his hands, and if he were capable of speech, he would be screaming out in utter agony. The pain is unbearable, like anything he has ever felt before. The entire city is screaming and for the first time in years, he cannot keep the voices out; they are overwhelming him. With all the will he can muster, he screams out with his mind trying to fight back the voices, but it is no use.

The giant spacecraft fires a blast that engulfs the entire city, and the resulting shockwave crashes into Osirus with such force that it knocks him into unconsciousness. As he plummets to the ground, he dreams of the first time the thoughts of others overwhelmed him.

Seven years ago

San Francisco, California

It is his thirteenth birthday and his aunt has taken him and his sister on a trip to San Francisco to celebrate. While his aunt is out, his adventurous sister dares him to fly them both to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. He does not want to, but then his feels compelled to do as she says. Osirus suspects that Isis has used her empathic abilities on him, forcing him to feel as adventurous as she does.

With a slight gesture of his hand, he wraps an electric-blue telekinetic coil around her waist. He flies them out of the open penthouse window and they sore above the city.

Within minutes, they are on top of the bridge, marveling at the sight of the city lit up at night. His sister stands at the edge of the bridge and opens her arms wide. The wind catches her white hair, sending strands across her face and causing it to billow behind her. He cannot help but smile at his twins' actions.

As far back as he could remember, she has had a lust for life. Despite her age, she has embraced life everyday, living it to its fullest. He, on the other hand, has spent his young life being very sullen and withdrawn. Since he was a child, his telepathy has not allowed him a moments rest. All day, everyday, he has the thoughts of others floating through his mind, and without constant screening, these thoughts would consume him.

His sister knows this, yet she always pushes him to relish in his abilities, as she does. He has always resisted her, but tonight he wishes to be like her. To not have a care in the world. To fully embrace his powers and not be afraid of what is out there.

He steps up next to his sister and raises his arms. The wind passes over his baldhead and sends shivers down his spine. He reaches out with his mind, touching every mind he can. Within seconds, he is in contact with every sentient mind on the planet and the rush he receives is intoxicating. Osirus grins from ear to ear. For the first time ever, he has opened himself up and the feeling is exhilarating, but then he senses something.

Something sinister in some of the minds he is in shocks and scares him. He is after all a child, one not fully capable of dealing with the forces he commands. He begins to panic and then all the thoughts come crashing down on him. Everyone's deepest, darkest secrets invade his mind and all he can think of is to lash out.

From the top of the bridge, he sends out a telekinetic shockwave that spreads through San Francisco, shattering every window in the city. From what seems like a distance, he can hear his sister screaming out, trying to catch his attention, but for now, he is beyond approach. He can barely hear her, her voice is barely a whisper amongst the psionic storm raging within his mind.

In China, he senses that a man has killed his wife for sleeping with his best friend. In New York, a woman is embezzling millions of dollars from her upscale law firm. In Los Angeles, a gang is robbing and raping a young woman.

Isis can sense Osirus' pain and panic, and for a moment, she knows not what to do. She tries to use her empathic abilities to force him to calm down, but the resulting psionic feedback sets her synapses on fire and drops her to her knees in agony. She can only think of one more thing that might save him. Since birth, the twins have shared certain bond that transcends all boundaries. She attempts to tap into that bound, and when she finds it, she latches onto and sends her astral body into her brother's mindscape.

In the mindscape, all she can see are billions of images flashing by at the speed of light. She also sees a giant storm engulfing a lone figure. She quickly deduces that it is her brother, and gathering her will together, she plunges headfirst into the psionic storm.

At first, she feels her synapses burn again, but fighting off the onslaught with her will, she is able to weather the storm and make her way to brother. She finds him floating in midair, his eyes ablaze with an electric-blue aura. She attempts to cry out to him, but he cannot hear her. She screams louder and louder, her will transforming her voice into shockwaves that strike her brother and catch his attention.

"I-I can't stop it," Osirus exclaims. "It's too much! Too many thoughts all crashing down on me! I can't s-s-shut them out. Isis, please help me!"

His plea for help shocks her, she has never known her brother to sound so desperate. He has always maintained control, but for the first time ever she finally understands why control was necessary for him. By relinquishing his control, he's now connected to every mind on the planet and his will isn't strong enough to keep the thoughts out.

"There's so much evil in the world," he begins, "so much evil. So much pain! So much hurt! So much suffering! Their thoughts are screaming out to me in horror! I have to end their suffering!"

Isis finally understands what her brother means to do. He means to destroy the minds of all sentients on the planet in order quiet the voices in his head and to give the people peace. She knows what she has to do, and she just prays that she is strong enough to carry it out. She uses her brother as a connection and she begins to gather certain feelings together and coalesce them into one. She gathers all the love, all the kindness, and all the hope in the hearts of the people on earth, and with great effort, she funnels them through her brother.

It hits Osirus like a hammer, and instead of sensing all the thoughts of despair, he feels the hope that is in the hearts of humanity, and this is what brings him back from the edge of the abyss. The storm of psionic energy ceases it's swirling and all the images in his mindscape vanish, only to be replaced by clouds and blue skies. It's serene. It's where he feels safe. He realizes that he's not mature enough to cope with the full scope of his telepathic abilities. He begins erecting psionic barriers to prevent him from using all of his power until he is old enough to control it all.

In the real world, he opens his eyes again and finds that not only had he levitated Isis into the air with him, he had deconstructed the Golden Gate bridge atom by atom until it was nothing by a cloud of red. All the cars and people that were on the bridge at the time of the deconstruction were also being levitated. Regaining control of his facilities, he drops his telekinetic field that was separating the atoms, and allows them to come together, again forming into the bridge.

With minimal effort, he sets the cars and people down and flies back to the penthouse with his sister in tow, utterly drained for her efforts to save him. He knows that his experience has left him permanently traumatized in some way. In a matter of hours, he will realize that the trauma has caused him a bit of brain damage, preventing him from communicating verbally and forcing him to rely solely on his telepathy to speak to others.

The Present

Los Angeles, California

Osirus can feel the wind whipping by him as he falls, yet coming out of unconsciousness has left him groggy and unable to stop his descent. His mind registers that in a matter of seconds, he will collide with the ground, yet all he can do is send out one last telepathic call.

"Help," he thinks.

One Hour Ago

West Hollywood, California

Derryck Luevano enters the club called Rage, and as he does so, he can feel everyone's eyes on him. "Hell," he thinks, "what's not to like?"

He is what people would call a "pretty boy", and what is worse is that he knows he is. Standing 6'1", possessing a built physique, a handsome smile, a strong chin, and perfect teeth, he is everyone's dream. In the gay world, he is considered absolute perfection. The two odd things, in fact the only flaws on him, would be his dark blue hair and eyes. All the boys in the club think the hair gives him a punkish look and that his eyes are the result of contacts, but they would never suspect the truth behind his looks.

As he makes his way thru the crowd, he can feel all the hands rubbing his washboard abs and his naked chest. Derryck enjoys walking into the clubs shirtless since it gives him all the attention a starving attention whore can ever want. Shrugging off his many admirers, he makes his way to the bar and notices an older man giving him the once over.

"Hi," Derryck begins, "I'm Derryck, and I'm thirsty. Care to buy me a drink?"

"S-S-Sure," the man stutters. "Whatever you want."

After Derryck gets his Mai Tai, he walks away from the man without a word and he does not even bother to look behind him. He sips his drink, savoring the flavor. Scanning the dance floor, he searches for the person he was supposed to meet here. Unfortunately, his scan was for naught since Osirus, his boyfriend is not there.

Derryck glances at his watch, and he notices that it is only ten twenty-one, and that he still had time, since his man was always fashionably late. A familiar song that he has not heard in a while, but loves, nonetheless, suddenly interrupts his thoughts. Weatha' Beatin' Hoochie Bitch by Stacy Hollywood used to be his favorite song when he first entered the club scene.

Setting down his drink at an empty table, he makes his way to the dance floor and pulls out his glow sticks. Derryck never goes to a club without them, since you never know when a fantastic techno song might erupt from the speakers. He moves through the crowd to the center of the dance floor, where in his eyes, he was always meant to be, the center of everything.

Derryck moves to the beat, twirling his glow sticks around him. The thump of the music and the pulse of the lights soothe him, and his able to let himself cut loose. He forgets all the troubles he has had this week and he just flows with the music. It is here, on the dance floor, that he has not a care in the world.

Forty minutes later and Derryck is still dancing. A handsome guy about his age approaches him from behind and places his lips close to his right ear.

"You want to dance," the young man asks.

Derryck turns around and stands face to face with the young man. He notices that the guy is hot. Light brown eyes, dark hair, and light stubble on his face. If he had been single, he would take the guy up on his offer, but Derryck has found the love of his life and he is not one to stray, even if he is an attention whore.

"Sorry Budd," Derryck begins, "but not tonight."

He turns to leave but is halted when the young man grabs him roughly by the wrist, digging his fingers into his skin.

"No," the young man begins, "I'm sorry. You seem to be under the impression that you had a choice in the matter. No one denies me."

Derryck cannot help but allow a smirk to cross his face. This guy obviously did not know what he was up against. With incredible speed, he yanks his right arm out of the guy's firm grip, and with his left hand, he delivers a severe backhand that sends the guy flying thirty feet in the opposite direction.

"Chump," Derryck thinks.

He walks up the stairs, ignoring the fearful glances the other club attendees throw his way, and walks out onto the balcony. Derryck beings to hang on the railing of the balcony when he starts to feel the gentle, loving touch of his lover in his mind.

"Hi Babe," Derryck thinks. "Where are you? You're late."

"I'm flying amongst the clouds," Osirus responds. "I should be in L.A. in a few minutes. I'm about twenty miles away now."

"Hmmm," Derryck thinks. "Twenty miles is nothing. With his telekinesis he moves some damn quick; he'll be here in no time."

"Derryck," Osirus thinks, "get out of there. NOW!"

The urgency of Osirus' though leaves a sharp, but fleeting, stab of pain in Derryck's head.

"Babe," Derryck's thoughts begin, "what's wro- -?"

He suddenly feels alone, which is a feeling he has not felt in a number of years. Since they first met, Osirus and Derryck have been in constant telepathic contact. Even when they were not speaking directly to each other's mind, they could always feel the other's presence, and that has always comforted Derryck.

Derryck looks skyward, searching for any sign of his boyfriend, but what he sees shocks him. In the sky, he finds a giant spacecraft hovering above the city. What'smore, the spacecraft was emitting a yellow aura about itself.

Suddenly, the craft fires a large blast of yellow energy that engulfs the entire city. The blast hits with such force that it shatters everyone window in the city and causes the balcony Derryck is standing on to break off from the rest of the building. He goes flying over the railing headfirst and, after a short drop, lands face down in the middle of the street.

Not skipping a beat, Derryck is on his feet in mere seconds, and all he can see is chaos everywhere. The people in the street are screaming, some shaking in convulsions. Suddenly all the screaming stops, and Derryck notices that everyone in the vicinity is staring at him. This time of staring does nothing to appease his thirst for attention, but chills him to the bone. It is deathly quiet, and the only sound being made is his breathing. All at once, the people lunge at him from every direction, yet some are no longer what he would consider people. They are now deformed and have nothing butt murderous rage in their eyes.

Derryck's reflexes take over and he slips into fighting mode. A woman that appears to be made of pure gold comes at him from behind, and without turning around, he kicks her hard in the face and sends her flying. Performing a roundhouse kick that takes down everyone in a small radius gives Derryck some wiggle room and he does not plan to waste it.

Concentrating, he causes his hair to erupt in dark blue flames, but it does not stop there. The flames spread over his entire body, burning away his pants and shoes. Raising his arms, he fires off stream after stream of the blue flame that makes up his body and knocks down every assailant in twenty-foot radius.

With the people nearest to him down, he fires a stream directly at the ground that sends him flying into the air with amazing thrust.

"What the fuck is going on," Derryck thinks. "What happened to everyone? Why do they look so awful?"

He flies away from West Hollywood, hoping to escape with his life. Suddenly his mind is filled with an urgent telepathic distress call from his boyfriend.

"Help me," Osirus thinks.

Derryck spots him directly bellow and swoops down and catches him before he hits the pavement. Making sure that the area is clear of the freakish people, he lands preparing to make sure that his man is ok.

"O," Derryck asks. "Can you hear me? Babe I need you to wake up. Something's wrong here."

Suddenly Derryck is in excruciating pain. It feels as if every cell in his body is on fire. His anguish sends out telepathic waves that arouse Osirus from unconsciousness.

Osirus sits up and looks around. He notices Derryck on his hands and knees a few feet away and crawls to his side.

"Derr," Osirus begins, "What's wrong?"

He tries to grab Derryck's shoulder but his quickly thrown back with surprising force.

Osirus is sent flying into the side of a building by quickly activating his telekinesis and forcibly stopping himself in midair.

"Derryck," Osirus exclaims angrily. "What the fuck is wrong with you? It's me. Osirus."

Derryck does not answer, mostly because he cannot hear his boyfriend over the pounding in his ears and the unbearable pain ripping through his body. Suddenly his skin turns as blue as the flames he wields in some places and dark grey in others due to the thick scales that now cover his body. Dark grey horns erupt from his forehead surrounding his much longer blue hair. Large bumps begin to appear on his back and soon two large, dark grey batwings erupt from them. His finger nails elongate, making his scaled hand look like talons. Derryck's incisors elongate, turning into vampire-like fangs. He grows a forked tail, which immediately begins whipping dangerously behind him. Then the pain ceases and he begins to stand up.

Derryck turns towards his boyfriend and faces him. He raises his arms into the air and unfurls his wings, extending them to their fullest. He opens his mouth and instead of words or a scream, a loud roar escapes his lips.

Standing some thirty feet from his boyfriend, Osirus stands with his mouth open.

"Holy Shit," he thinks.


End file.
